Lissa

I don't use as many pillows as pre-op, for sure. Congrats and keep looking for those NSVs!!!

Princess, Check into medicaid/medicare in your state. See if they will help you get surgery. However, don't wait to lose weight to live and enjoy your life! You are young! Get out there and meet people! Life doesn't have to pass you by just because you're heavy!!!

Hooray!! Good luck on your journey!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All those NSVs let you know that you made the right choice for you! Enjoy fitting in all those wonderful new places...including sex!

I'm so sorry that you didn't get your sleeve! I agree with everyone else, drop that 20 pounds any way you can safely do so and then get back in there. It will definitely be worth it!!!

Thank you all for your good wishes! My home is okay. I'll have to do some roof work and I plan to have the electrician in as soon as he's available, but I got really lucky! I promised a pic for my one year and then I forgot to post it. Here it is!!!

Dana, Yes, you can lose a significant amount of weight without exercise. But, you should definitely work closely with your nut and doctor(s) to keep your Protein levels high. Rapid weight loss also means muscle loss without exercise and protein to help protect your muscle, especially your heart, which is a muscle. You may find that exercise becomes much easier once the weight starts coming off your body. I'm the poster child for no exercise pre-op. I could barely walk. Although my situation didn't involve a wheelchair, I was very close to it. I couldn't walk through walmart without needing to stop and rest every couple of aisles. I have/had bad knees and was probably a higher BMI than even the charts show because I had little or no muscle. I started out walking up and down the hallway, and progressed from there. I also started out doing 10 reps of 2 pound weights for my arms once a day. Now, I'm basically a gym rat. I don't think everyone can or should become a gym rat, but even a little exercise makes a huge difference for us. Someone here posted a link to a You Tube video that shows what the benefits of 30 minutes daily of regular mild exercise (walking, bike ride) can be for a sedentary person. It was amazing to hear what the health benefits can be for so little activity! Even better is that there are some new studies that say that breaking up that 30 minutes into 10 minute increments has as much, possibly more, benefit as doing it all in one chunk. So, if you could fit three 10 minute sessions of some activity into your day, you could get the benefits without a formal, rigorous program. You've got nothing to lose by fitting in some activities that work for you, except weight. TJMom, above, is the perfect example of working slowly towards a goal. She's not doing a formal program, but she's getting phenomenal results from doing what she can do with regard to exercise.

package-y? Meaning they looked too posed? Show them anyway... We're all counting on you guys for some eye candy!

Are you having a period? That would be my first thought.

My sleeve is Rex, because he was downsized from a T-Rex. And, my sleeve is male because he doesn't like certain things, like chocolate.. and only a man would keep a woman from eating chocolate when she wants it!

I'm subscribing too, and Free Spirit, I'd LOVE to see the link/pictures if you please! Your cost sounds MUCH better than what I was quoted, which was $11,500 for just the lower body lift.

You look terrific! I see your weight loss, even if you don't!!!! Congrats on losing 100 pounds!! :::: Hands over membership card ::::::

Patrick Curl on here had the sleeve at over 600 pounds I believe. He's doing a phenomenal job at losing weight and hasn't had any complications that I know about. Perhaps look him up and read some of his progress posts.

It sounds like your daughter needs some serious professional help. I would call the local police where she's at and ask them to do a wellness check on her. She has already threatened serious harm to herself, so a psyche evaluation may be in order. The police or hospitals in most states can do a three day admission to a facility to help someone calm themselves down. If the problem is more serious, or needs medication, that three day stay can be a Godsend to save someone's life. Please act now. You could be saving your daughter's life. I know you don't want to do anything to harm her, but you cannot let someone in that mental state be alone. Better to over react on this occasion than to plan a funeral.

Pooh, I buy Premier Protein bars at Sam's Club. I usually eat them for Breakfast and I will break one into pieces to use when the urge to snack hits me. The bonus is that they have 30 grams of protein per bar... and I like that they have enough carbs to fuel a workout session! Skip the unhealthy Snacks and train yourself to use food you should be eating as a snack. Carrot sticks, beef Jerky, sliced lunch meat and mini babybel cheese (much cheaper at sam's too) are my staples.

I had the same procedure, plus had the filter removed after surgery. The only thing I'd add to Jerzy Girl's experience is that I had conscious sedation (Versed). I remember both procedures, but the Versed made it so I didn't give a darn what the doc was doing. My IVC filter was installed 5 days before surgery and removed 2 weeks after surgery. It's super important to get your water in after your sleeve if you're going to have your IVC filter removed. Being even a little dehydrated makes it difficult for the nurses to start your IV.

You can do wonders with walking, running, and straight calisthenics like we were taught in physical education classes as kids. Perhaps take a book of exercises with you? Add in some weight lifting with what you can find at camp. Light weights and high repetitions will start building muscle. Good luck!

As long as you're not doing goats or little kids, more power to you! Enjoy the NSV!!!

I also will eat a banana on the way to the gym if I'm not up to a protein bar. It's just enough carbs to get me through my workout usually. When I hit that wall where I feel like I'll never climb over, it affects my workout for DAYS. Dragging myself through one workout makes me dread going back to the gym, so I try to never leave myself in that spot.

How long ago were you sleeved? Do you notice that the pain is worse or better after any specific activity like drinking, exercise, walking, laying down? Have you had similar pain before or before surgery? Do you lift weights? I hesitate to offer any advice because I don't know any of the above, but, here goes. If you're newly sleeved and the pain starts right after you drink, slow down on your drinking by taking smaller sips. Shoulder pain was my early full signal. If it's worse/better before or after any activity, then either stop or continue that activity. If you're lifting weights, you might have possibly injured your rotator cuff. Look up or ask your trainer for some specific exercises to do to strenthen the rotator cuff. If you had similar pain before surgery, it could be related to whatever caused that. If all else fails, call or go see your doctor.

I try to eat a protein bar right before I go to the gym. Also, if I don't get my B12 in every day, I notice that I'm much more fatigued. I take a sublingual B12 daily...I think it's 5000 mcg.